Is the series over? Or to Game 4? A match between lefties where everyone’s fate depends. Who will have the advantage?
NC Dinos and SSG Landers will face off in the third game of the semi-playoffs at Changwon NC Park on the 25th. NC, which advanced by defeating the Doosan Bears in the wild card game, won both the first and second games. In the first game, NC won 4 to 3 thanks to a dramatic two-run home run by pinch hitter Kim Seong-wook, and in the second game, they scored 4 early points against Kim Gwang-hyun and won 7 to 3.
If NC wins the third game, the series will end. From NC’s perspective, it is best to finish it as quickly as possible. If they win the 3rd game and end with 3 wins and no losses, there will be enough time to prepare for the playoffs against KT Wiz starting on the 30th.
On the other hand, SSG must somehow lead the series to Game 5 to have any hope of advancing to the playoffs. SSG, which is on the brink with two losses, must win both the 3rd and 4th games away to Changwon, return home to Incheon, and win the 5th game to be held on the 28th to advance to the playoffs. This is a situation where there is absolutely no room to back down.
NC announced Tanner Turley and SSG announced Oh Won-seok as the starting pitchers. Both are left-handed pitchers, and both teams have many left-handed hitters. At the same time, variables exist.
NC was initially expected to have 20-win pitcher ‘Ace’ Eric Peddy play in Game 3. However, as Peddie complained of discomfort and uneasiness in his elbow area, it was decided not to pitch in Game 3 after a hospital examination. If the series gets longer, there is a possibility that he will appear, but in reality, semi-playoffs do not seem easy. This is even more why NC should end the series with Tanner. This is because in the playoffs where more rest days are given, Peddie may recover to more perfect condition.
Tanner, who was hired as a replacement last August, appeared in 11 regular season games and recorded a respectable record of 5 wins, 2 losses, and an ERA of 2.92. He appeared only once against SSG and became the winning pitcher, allowing 2 runs in 5⅓ innings. It is good news that he had the best record with 3 wins, 1 loss, and an average ERA of 2.81 at NC Park, which he is most familiar with.
In the regular season matchup, SSG hitters Seong-Hyun Kim had 2 hits in 3 at-bats, Chan-Hyung Kim had 2 hits in 3 at-bats, Shin-Soo Choo had 1 hit in 2 at-bats, and Jeong Choi Jeong Heredia of Hanyu Island each had 1 hit in 3 at-bats.
Oh Won-seok has more experience facing opposing hitters than Tanner. This year’s regular season record is 8 wins, 10 losses, and an average ERA of 5.23 in 28 games. He appeared in 4 games against NC, recording 2 wins, 2 losses, and an ERA of 4.98. There were quite a few ups and downs between good and bad days.메이저사이트
Among NC batters, Kim Joo-won was the strongest against Oh Won-seok this season with 4 hits in 7 at-bats, Park Min-woo had 3 hits in 7 at-bats, and Seo Ho-cheol and Martin had 2 hits each. Park Se-hyuk also recorded 2 hits in 3 at-bats. Top hitter Son Ah-seop and center hitter Kwon Hee-dong performed somewhat poorly against Oh Won-seok, with no hits in eight at-bats.
However, as we saw in the first and second games, short-term games are ultimately a battle of atmosphere and momentum rather than relative performance data. In the first and second games, NC showed the power of coming together by overcoming the good pitching of Roenis Elias and Seung-won Moon, while SSG collapsed as they could not get the last ‘one shot’ despite Hanyu Seom’s hard work in the batting lineup. The key is how to resolve this battle of atmosphere in the third game.